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- Both nations emphasised their commitment to fostering a stronger bilateral partnership based on mutual respect and a constructive approach to resolving issues, ensuring win-win outcomes without overshadowing the broader relationship.
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 8): Malaysia and Singapore reaffirmed their commitment to revamp the Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia (JMCIM) to better support the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ).
This follows the formalisation of the JS-SEZ agreement, which aims to attract 100 projects within its first decade.
"The leaders reaffirmed ongoing discussions to refresh the JMCIM platform to better support the ambition and implementation of the JS-SEZ, while reinforcing bilateral cooperation on other fronts, such as transport and the environment," Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong said in a joint statement issued after the 11th Malaysia-Singapore Leaders' Retreat.
They also highlighted opportunities for further collaboration in the development of Iskandar Malaysia, particularly through the establishment of the JS-SEZ, which aims to create a dynamic and sustainable business ecosystem.
Both nations emphasised their commitment to fostering a stronger bilateral partnership based on mutual respect and a constructive approach to resolving issues, ensuring win-win outcomes without overshadowing the broader relationship.
"The leaders noted Singapore’s intention to open consulates in Sabah and Sarawak, which would further deepen economic and people-to-people ties between Singapore and East Malaysia, as well as strengthen the overall bilateral relationship," the statement on Jan 7 read.
Collaborating on renewable energy
Malaysia and Singapore also committed to enhancing collaboration in renewable energy trading and exploring a framework for the mutual recognition of green attributes to support sustainable and low-carbon goals.
Both nations aim to build on the success of cross-border green electricity trading, including Tenaga Nasional Bhd's (KL:TENAGA) pilot supply of 50MW of green electricity to Singapore through Sembcorp Power under the renewable energy scheme via the Energy Exchange Malaysia (Enegem) auction platform.
"The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to continue exploring and enhancing collaboration in cross-border trading of electricity and renewable energy, in pursuit of their shared goals of decarbonization, energy security, and economic growth," the statement read.
It also noted Singapore's plans to import renewable energy from Sarawak and acknowledged the ongoing feasibility studies by Tenaga and Singapore's national grid operator, SP Group, to optimise existing interconnector use.
"To enable longer-term, large-scale bilateral and regional power trade, the joint feasibility study will also seek to expand interconnector capacity and infrastructure between Singapore and Malaysia," the statement added.
On the issue of water supply, both nations instructed their officials to continue discussions through the joint technical committee to address the pricing of raw and treated water.
These discussions will proceed without prejudice to each country’s declared positions on the right to review prices under the 1962 Johore River Water Agreement (62WA) while ensuring that all obligations under the agreement are upheld.
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